Court Orders Forfeiture Of N81.1m From N2.5bn Stolen Funds At Sterling Bank

Justice Yelim Bogoro of the Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered the final forfeiture of N81,108,143.8 from the N2.5 billion stolen from Sterling Bank to the Federal Government of Nigeria.

Justice Bogoro gave the order after entertaining an application to that effect filed by the counsel to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Hannatu KofarNaisa.

The judge had, on October 2, 2025, granted an interim forfeiture and mandated publication in a national newspaper for parties to contest why the funds shouldn’t be permanently forfeited.

The anti-graft agency had told the court that some Sterling Bank customers transferred the forfeited funds due to a system glitch, for personal and third-party use.

The lawyer claimed that the investigation, initiated after a bank petition on July 18, 2022, traced the stolen money to various accounts, including that of Sulaiman Kehinde Ojora, a major fraud beneficiary.

She further alleged that the investigation revealed that Ojora had secretly hidden N43 million in a friend’s Access Bank account and N122.2 million in his wife’s Sterling Bank account.

In an affidavit filed in support of the application and sworn by an investigator, Maina Gapani Gyal, the EFCC confirmed the theft of over N2.5 billion through a bank system glitch that enabled illegal transfers via PAYATTITUDE Global Ltd’s platform, which was not funded by the accounts.

Gyal also stated that the bank couldn’t recover N295.9 million, which had been withdrawn and transferred to accounts belonging to Taiwo Oluwaseyi Alawode and Aminat Olatanwa Ojora.

He further stated that the recovered amount of N81,108,143.8 is now sought for final forfeiture, along with N490.35 million from the bank’s internal records.

The investigator argued that the funds are likely proceeds of illegal activity.

Justice Bogoro, upon reviewing the application, found it meritorious and granted the final forfeiture order, directing the money to be forfeited to the Federal Government in favour of Sterling Bank Plc.